Section 7.4 Third Class, Fourth Class, and Other Cities, Towns, and Villages

• Library: Local Government Deskbook (2017 Ed.)

B. (§7.4) Third Class, Fourth Class, and Other Cities, Towns, and Villages

Statutory cities, including third class, fourth class, and other cities, towns, and villages, must be able to point to a specific statute in order to enact a valid regulatory measure. City of Lake Lotawana v. Meagher, 581 S.W.2d 105 (Mo. App. W.D. 1979). But it should be noted that these cities also have implied powers that are necessary to carry out statutorily authorized functions. In Premium Standard Farms, Inc. v. Lincoln Township of Putnam County, 946 S.W.2d 234, 238 (Mo. banc 1997) (quoting Robert H. Freilich, Missouri Law of Land Use Controls: With National Perspectives, 42 UMKC L. Rev. 1, 27 (1973)), the Court noted:

It is an established principle that local governments “have no inherent powers but are confined to those expressly delegated by the sovereign and to those powers necessarily implied in the authority to carry

...